18 February 2019: The Productivity Commission has released an issues paper that will inform an inquiry into local government funding and financing. This letter provides written comments from the Office of the Auditor-General.
Local government
February 2019: This report sets out the main findings and observations from our audits of local authorities’ 2018-28 long-term plans (LTPs).
Flooding is New Zealand’s most frequent natural hazard and causes significant social, environmental, and economic costs. How is your council managing their stormwater systems to reduce the risk of your home flooding?
December 2018: We looked at how Dunedin City Council, Porirua City Council, and Thames-Coromandel District Council manage their stormwater systems to protect people and their property from the effects of flooding.
December 2018: Protecting and conserving marine ecosystems while balancing competing interest groups in the Hauraki Gulf is challenging. We looked at a project aiming to create New Zealand's first marine spatial plan, which would create a healthy, productive, and sustainable future for the Gulf...
June 2008, ISBN 978-0-478-32610-9.
December 2018: Post-implementation reviews evaluate how well a project has been managed and whether the benefits of that project have been achieved. We reviewed the process Auckland Council used for carrying out the reviews of two of its projects...
September 2018: We audited three district councils (Horowhenua District Council, Kāpiti Coast District Council, and Manawatu District Council) and one city council (Palmerston North City Council) to understand the challenges they face in supplying drinking water to their communities. We looked at what these four councils are doing to influence demand for drinking water and whether they are taking an integrated approach, using financial and non-financial methods.
August 2018: In 2018, councils were required – for the second time since the Local Government Act 2002 was amended in 2014 – to produce consultation documents for their long-term plans. This report is based on our audits of the 2018-28 consultation documents. It is a mix of reflection, commentary, and good-practice guidance. We hope that this combination provides a useful resource for the next time councils prepare and consult on their planning documents.
Why stormwater management is the unsung hero of urban infrastructure.
March 2018: This report presents the results of our annual audits and other work in local government during 2016/17. Some of our findings are recurring, which is of concern. Elected members are ultimately responsible for what a local authority does, how it does it, and the consequences. We acknowledge the multiple demands on local authorities to balance service delivery and costs, and we hope that the findings in this report make a useful contribution to addressing matters that need to be considered.
December 2017: Elected councillors need relevant and reliable information to make good decisions about managing the assets they govern. As communities and environments change, the challenges that local authorities face and decisions they make are becoming more complex. We looked at how five local authorities approached identifying and gathering the right information about their assets...
Sharing some insights from our 2015/16 annual audits...
April 2017: Although the focus of this report is on the 2015/16 audits, it outlines important messages about what the Auditor-General intends to monitor throughout his term...
January 2017: In our view, CERA did well early on in the recovery. CERA was also effective in leading a co-ordinated government response to the earthquakes. However, CERA found it challenging to maintain momentum. Its role became less clear as it took on more responsibility for delivering more projects and programmes. CERA did not engage the community well, and struggled to demonstrate its effectiveness and value for money because it had inadequate performance measures and information. It also took a long time for CERA to set up effective systems and controls. CERA’s management controls and performance information needed improvement right up to the time of its disestablishment.
April 2016: Communities continue to expect that their council will manage spending well and keep rate increases to a minimum. But the demand for services, and the need for investment in infrastructure, is generally not reducing. Councils must think about the long term and consider how to adapt.
December 2015: This report sets out the main findings and observations from our audits of local authorities’ 2015-25 long-term plans (LTPs). It follows on from our report Consulting the community about local authorities’ 10-year plans, which included our observations from our audits of local authorities’ consultation documents.
October 2015: This report updates our earlier publications on local authority subsidiaries and re-examines the principles for good governance of subsidiaries that we proposed in 2001. It also identifies and discusses the issues relevant to CCOs that have come to our attention since 2002.
October 2015: We found that the chief executive’s involvement did not influence or contribute to any substantive aspects of the Council’s policy for special housing areas. The Mayor and Council took appropriate steps to manage the conflict of interest. The chief executive took no part in recommendations or decisions about special housing areas after declaring his interest. We also found that the conflict affected the chief executive’s ability to advise the Council about special housing areas and provide leadership to council staff in this area.
October 2015: Progress with technical aspects – such as reaching design solutions, developing procurement options, and budget management – has been strong. But Auckland Transport needs to improve the focus on relationships with stakeholders, contractor performance, and the benefits delivered to date, as part of the monitoring and reporting. We made 12 recommendations to help Auckland Transport strengthen AMETI’s governance, accountability, and programme management arrangements.
21 August 2015
August 2015: Overall, local authorities have responded well to the new requirements in the 2014 amendments to the Local Government Act 2002. However, the consultation documents we audited varied in quality, as did the infrastructure strategies. But they have provided a good base for local authorities to improve on.
April 2015: Overall, Auckland Council is performing its responsibilities as a building consent authority reasonably well. Its internal quality assurance procedures are sound, with systems and technical audits carried out routinely. It has a good standard of internal reporting of workflows and how well it meets targets...
February 2015: ISBN 978-0-478-44211-3.
November 2014: Collectively, local authorities are responsible for more than $100 billion of community assets that provide essential everyday services. This report sets out an overview of the approach that local authorities are taking to managing their infrastructure assets. We focused on roading, water supply, wastewater, and storm water services...
October 2014: This report brings our observations and concerns about licensing trusts to the attention of those with an interest in this part of the public sector. We found that some licensing trusts are well managed and quite successful, despite current economic challenges. However, increasing numbers of licensing trusts are struggling with profitability and financial viability. Some licensing trusts also resist the costs of public sector external accountability...
October 2014: This report looks at how three elected members of Ashburton District Council managed conflict of interest questions recently...
May 2014: Overall, Watercare strives to provide its customers with good customer service, and it has been largely successful. In our view, it has been largely successful. Watercare inherited a complex set of tariff arrangements and has been progressively standardising them. However, Watercare could improve some aspects of its performance – in particular, by providing its customers with better information about how it operates and what customers can expect...
May 2014: ISBN 978-0-478-41073-0 (print), ISBN 978-0-478-41074-7 (online).
March 2014: Delta lost about $5.9 million on the Luggate investment and has projected a loss of about $2.8 million for Jacks Point. The report identifies that there was too much focus on the likely profits and not enough consideration of risks of the market slowing or an exit strategy if things went wrong. It also suggests that Delta should have got independent advice before investing.